Escape Artists

The Lounge at the End of the Universe => Gallimaufry => Topic started by: stePH on July 01, 2015, 06:27:24 PM

Title: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: stePH on July 01, 2015, 06:27:24 PM
(don't make the obvious joke :P)

Shot this last Saturday (4 days ago) just to test out video recording of my device when I'm eventually ready to do a proper performance that I'll be proud to put my name on - maybe in another month.

Anyway, I'm pleased with how it came out except for the loud clicking of the thick bass string on the fret rails. Maybe speaker placement can fix that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxky7tn1kS4
Title: Re: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: shanehalbach on July 01, 2015, 07:07:13 PM
Huh, cool. Lead me down the rabbit hole of what the hell a Stick is. :) Looks pretty awesome.
Title: Re: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: stePH on July 01, 2015, 07:28:16 PM
You should check out what an actual skilled player can do with it. A couple recommendations:

"One Cloud" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JjimMO2SdE) - an original composition by Rob Martino

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYKB6Lag-wg) - a Beatles cover by Bob Culbertson
Title: Re: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: shanehalbach on July 02, 2015, 04:31:29 PM
Awesome. Sounds like several instruments at a time, or multi-track.

Must be hella complicated to play! Is there a standard tuning for the Stick, or do people tune them differently depending on the sound they want?
Title: Re: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: stePH on July 02, 2015, 06:47:39 PM
Must be hella complicated to play! Is there a standard tuning for the Stick, or do people tune them differently depending on the sound they want?

There are various tuning options, depending on the player's preference. I ordered mine with standard tuning:
BASS STRINGS (from center of neck outward): rising 5ths
C, G, D, A, E

MELODY STRINGS (from center of neck outward): rising 4ths
F#, B, E, A, D

The fifths tuning of the bass strings takes some getting used to, if you're used to playing guitar or bass (typically tuned in 4ths) but you can play open-voiced chords a lot more easily in that tuning.

If I make it to the end of the year without lapsing again, I'm going to replace these 15-year-old strings and retune to "baritone melody" which will eliminate the high D string and add a C# string below the F# on the melody side. The method book I got with the instrument is by Greg Howard who seems to prefer that tuning and wrote the book's exercises to use it.
Title: Re: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: stePH on July 02, 2015, 06:55:32 PM
This is multi-tracked; I did this three weeks ago and put it up in my SoundCloud; just this morning I made a YooToob version and put it up in my channel.
Unlike the video at the top of this thread, it sounds like I'm playing competently. That's because each chord was recorded by itself, and I cut up the sound file and stitched it together in Caustic's step sequencer. Also the solo was played through AmpliTube on my iPad, and I recorded that phrase-by-phrase and stitched it together in Caustic.

"Night Ride Home" (Joni Mitchell, 1991) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U06RoIYDDA)

I look forward to being able to play this without studio fakery  :P
Title: Re: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: stePH on January 14, 2016, 10:41:18 PM
Christmas came and so did a new set of Stick strings, in the aforementioned Baritone Melody tuning. I replaced them last Saturday night, and on Sunday I commenced my "Song of the Week" project - once a week I will sing or rap something, and post the video to teh YooToobz.

I performed "Fix It" on Stick, but it was a little clumsy, only in part due to the new tuning (the upper strings being down a perfect fourth from what they were).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttfJl51PT_g

Here's the playlist that will collect all the Song of the Week videos, and includes an introductory video explaining the idea.
Also includes my performance of "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" from The Muppet Movie even though it's from the last week of December so not part of the 2016 Song of the Week project.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwCyGEjWsOBEqu3M03HWtUQKQZ2jMTwDa

(This weekend's song will almost certainly be "Fish and Whistle" by John Prine, and I will play guitar.)
Title: Re: (VIDEO) Playing with my Stick
Post by: stePH on February 29, 2016, 07:12:53 PM
Eighth Song of the Week is the second one to feature Stick accompaniment.
I just wish I'd been able to sing it better, but... deadline.


Tove Lo - "Habits" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6vIfyx07VU)